Two groups of heli-skiers were in a staging area below the tree line of Clute Creek watershed after skiing on the east side of Kootenay Lake. A transport helicopter was approaching the groups when the pilot saw the avalanche barrelling down the mountain and sounded an alarm siren.

Three people were killed when a large avalanche swept away a group of skiers in Canada, officials said. The avalanche struck just before 1 p.m. on Monday when two groups of skiers had just finished skiing and were waiting in a staging area below the tree line of Clute Creek water shed in an alpine area on the east side of Kootenay Lake in the British Columbia backcountry,